I have been working for LAFF for a month now and I have already had the opportunity to get involved in many of its numerous projects and activities! I am going to work for LAFF as Programme Coordinator for 4 months as part of my gap year between my bachelor and my master’s studies. I applied, got accepted and left from Italy to Peru all within two weeks: I literally threw myself into this new experience, knowing very little of what I was to face. LAFF dedicates all its resources to help the children of areas near Cusco, and the help we provide can be delivered in different ways. One of these ways, in the case of the young girls that LAFF supports, is to teach them about their bodies and, in the last project’s case, providing them with menstrual cups. Under a male point of view, I knew little if anything about them, but I soon understood their importance and functioning. I now deem myself a specialist on the subject!

Getting my first kiss from an alpaca, January 2019

My first impressions living in Cusco and working for LAFF

You don’t need much time to fall in love with Cusco and Peruvian people. I took the first days in the city to explore the centre and get myself used to the altitude, which is not the most breath-taking things of this place. After 3 or 4 hours walking around the historical centre, I already craved to see every place in and around Cusco, trying all the foods and beverages in the Central Market of San Pedro or that the women, dressed up in the typical Peruvian clothes and wearing the typical trensa, sell on the street.

The third day after my arrival in Cusco, I finally went to the office to get introduced to my new job as Programme Coordinator for LAFF. What I understood right away was that all the days were going to be different from each other, which is something I am really valuing and enjoying. Indeed, we never spend the whole week in an office! The time varies between visiting partners, carrying out workshops, or doing market research. A very interesting market research was indeed the first task that was assigned to me.

Learning about Menstrual Cups

Currently, I am the only male at the office, but this did not represent a reason for not being in charge of conducting a research on menstrual cups! This topic remains a taboo among the girls we try to help as well as those that live in more reclined environments, and it is not something I had the chance to discuss before arriving here. It has been quite funny that me, the only boy at the office, had to explain all the girls all the detail between the different menstrual tools! The faces of the girls at the office where priceless when I tried to explain them that the Duet, a contraceptive diaphragm, could be used as a menstrual cup too. As a matter of fact, every time I describe what I am researching about, everyone reacts amazed and extremely amused, being them my colleagues at the office, my family here and at home, or my friends.

“I did not imagine how big of change a little silicon cup can make for millions of girls.”

Nevertheless, my research is part of one of LAFF’s new projects, which aims at discovering if the girls of two of our partner organisations, Sacred Valley Project and Casa Mantay, will like and adapt to using the menstrual cup. If our project turns out to be successful, it can have numerous advantages to the girls and to the environment, and could be hopefully scaled up. Indeed, the potential benefits are various, such cost reduction (as the cups can be used up to 10 years!), major sustainability, lower environmental impact, and more hygiene. Furthermore, it can lead to important psychological and social outcomes, as talking about the menstrual cup and using it can help the girls break taboos around menstruation and their bodies. Finally, a research on this subject is a novelty in the rural Andean region; therefore, it helps raise awareness about the girls’ conditions and has the potential become an example for other organisations to carry similar programmes.

Teaching a workshop on sexual education in Azul Wasi, February 2019

From a male perspective, there are many issues that are often neglected. Until less than a month ago, I did not imagine how big of change a little silicon cup can make for millions of girls, and I ignored how many problems the lack of these can entail. Working for LAFF, in an office and environment female-dominated, has already taught me many things and helped me broaden my perspective on many issues. I hope that the acquired knowledge can allow me to help many more girls, by continuing the research on the menstrual cups and finding other ways that can affect their lives.

If you also want to learn many new things about international development that would not even cross your mind right now, and you are thinking about applying volunteering aborad, visit our website or alternatively get in touch with us ([email protected]) to see how your skills could benefit us!

Riccardo Pani

How did it all start?

While being asked “who do you want to be in the future?” to everyone’s surprise my answer was not the typical little girl’s reply of “I want to be a princess”. I wanted something else; I knew I wanted to be a businesswoman with my own charity.

Every time when I need to make a big decision of my life I always follow my intuition. That is what happened when later on the time came to choose my study course. I spontaneously decided to go to an international university fair in my city- Warsaw (Poland). That is where I found out about the option of “International Business and Languages” in Rotterdam. I put everything on that card and did not look back. Now here I am, currently in my third year of studies in the Rotterdam Business School.

It was only after my first year of studies that I realized that pure-commercial business was not for me. I was missing a more meaningful part in it. One year later, when I needed to do a mandatory extra minor course, I chose the option of “social enterprises”. At first, I was not enthusiastic about it. Funny enough, I never expected that that was actually what I would want to do in life.

People say, “if you really want something and you believe in it, it will come on your path”.

Apparently I did believe in it strongly enough, because my whish of working in the sector of social enterprises started to become a realitywith LAFF.

What I am doing now

Since the begging of studies, I knew that I want to do my internship in Latin America because of two main reasons: Firstly, I wanted to work in a Spanish speaking environment, as this language is one of my main passions. Secondly, I always wanted to live, at least for a bit, in a Latin culture to be able to explore it from a citizen perspective- not a touristic one. Therefore, I applied to many different internships in Latin America, one of them being an offer about a social enterprise position in Cusco, Peru. I did not know much about Peru, but the idea of Peru felt good. So, I gave it a chance and I applied for the position with LAFF.

During my skype interview, when Marcela, LAFF’s Programme Manager, asked me if I knew something about social enterprises, I got chills, because that is what I was dreaming about.

Thankfully, I was accepted to start as Social Enterprise Coordinator, so my wish came true!

Here I am now in Cusco, as a Social Enterprise Coordinator at LAFF and I can honestly say I love my internship here.

Arte Floral Social Enterpise of Casa Mantay, November 2018.

What does “social enterprise” mean?

“A social enterprise is a commercial organization that has specific social objectives that serve its primary purpose. Social enterprises seek to maximize profits while maximizing benefits to society and the environment. Their profits are principally used to fund social programs.” (Investopedia, 2018)

Social enterprises exist at the intersection of the private and voluntary sectors, and this is where the business world meets volunteering world. But for me it means more than that.

It just means the perfect balance between working in business area while combining it with charity world.

It means making money while making the world better.

It means using my business knowledge, but for a good cause, not just for making profit.

It means supporting an organisation and its beneficiaries by improving their organisations, so they can have more resources to support their cause in a sustainable way.

Justyna with some of the girls of SVP during a Youth Development workshop, November 2018.

But what is even more, here in LAFF I know personally all the organizations and it is beneficiaries that the social enterprises I am working with are supporting. And that gives me extra motivation for my work.

It is a challenging task

Although all employees and owners of the social enterprises we support are people with big hearts, most of them do not have enoughbusiness knowledge and experience. This makes it difficult to run a business and use maximise its potential. As a result, as from what I have been able to see, main discussions and ideas are based more on personal opinions and feelings rather than business. That is why, sometimes, our meetings started with me explaining some business concepts and strategies before taking any decisions.

What would you say if I tell you that both worlds – business and charity – can benefit from each other?

The business world

Social enterprises make the image of the commercial business world more human.

business people can get extra motivation and more meaning in their job, which makes the whole business more effective.

Thanks to that, for example here in Peru, some women from the Andescommunities who are making handmade crafts, can start their small businesses and become entrepreneurs.

This also makes the tourism sectormore sustainable by supporting communities with the opportunity to develop further while earning extra income.

Last but not least, this creates new and more creative ways of marketing and business strategies.

The charity world

Not only small projects supported by social enterprises, but the NGOs themselvesbenefit from theinvolvement of business people and business concepts by becoming moresustainable, structured and independent financially due to the earned profit from the social enterprises, instead of depending solely on donations which very often not regular.

LAFF local team in Huarán, Cusco on a team retreat. October 2018.

In sum…

I believe the concept of social enterprise is highly beneficial. Nowadays, we live mainly in a commercial world where it seems that the only important factor is profit. That is why we need more initiatives like these, that highlight positive social change as a priority.

If it is money what mainly rules the world, why shouldn’t we at least combine it with the social sector, which is what in the end of the day can help change the lives of many for the better?

Justyna Skoczylas

November 25, 2018. March to commemorate the International Day Against Violence Against Women in Cusco, Peru.

On November 25th, The International
Day against Violence against Women, I marched the streets of Cusco with the
young mothers of Casa Mantay along with various other organizations to raise
awareness to end violence against women and girls.

Violence against women and girls manifests
itself in physical, sexual and psychological forms, including intimate partner
violence, sexual violence and harassment, human trafficking, female genital
mutilation and child marriage. This major issue continues to be an obstacle to
achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women
and girls’ human rights.

Violence against women and girls is one of
the most persistent and devastating human rights violations in both Peru and
our world today. Worldwide, 1 in 3
women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most
frequently by an intimate partner1. In Peru,
12 girls are sexually violated every
single day2. In 2017 alone, 6621 cases of sexual abuse against girls and adolescents were
reported in Peru3. Of those 6621 cases, 2140 were against girls between 10 and
13 years old and 2346 were against
adolescents between 14 and 17 years old4.
Although these numbers seem high, they are largely underestimated because
violence against women and girls remains largely unreported due to the
impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.

November 25, 2018. The mothers of Casa Mantay marching with their babies in Cusco, Peru.

This issue hits close to home because many of
the young girls we work with have been sexually abused. Marching along side the
young mothers of Casa Mantay who have become mothers as a result of sexual
violence was incredibly moving. It was so powerful to see the girls marching in
a line, each one pushing her baby in a stroller while shouting chants such as “Con ropa o sin ropa mi cuerpo no se toca!”
(With or without clothes, my body’s not to be touched!) and “Dicen que las mujeres no saben luchar. Ya verá el gobierno carajo lo que va a pasar, ¡A la lucha vamos ya, a la
lucha!” (They say that
women do not know how to fight. The government will soon see what is going to
f****** happen. To the fight we go, to the fight!)

November 25, 2018. A call for action outside of the Department of Justice Building in Cusco, Peru.

These mothers are between the ages of 11
and 18 years old, most of them children themselves. They have big hopes and
dreams they envision for themselves, which have now been put on the backburner.
I have been working with the educators of Casa Mantay to develop curricula and
lead workshops with the goal to educate these girls on their rights as women,
support them to increase their self-confidence, and inspire them to live safe, healthy
and happy lives free of violation and abuse.

The first time I asked each girl to share
one thing she loves about herself, not one person could come up with an answer.
After provoking them week after week to write down what they love about
themselves, what they are good at, and why they are good mothers, it has
gradually become easier for them to answer these questions—a true indicator of
self confidence.

In addition to working with the girls of
Casa Mantay, I have also been doing workshops with the girls of the Sacred
Valley Project in Ollantaytambo and Calca. The aim of these workshops is to
increase their self-confidence and equip them with knowledge about sexual
health, pregnancy prevention, and their rights as women. I also strive to
increase their comfort and ability to say ‘no’ to unwanted sex, and to be able
to talk openly and proudly about their bodies without shame or stigma. Before
starting these workshops, I thought the girls would be very timid and reluctant
to share their thoughts about these taboo topics such as their bodies, sex, and
menstruation. However, to my surprise, almost all of the girls have quickly
opened up to me and have been excited to share their thoughts and experiences each
week. I have already seen an increase in knowledge, self-confidence and comfort
level discussing these important topics.

November 22, 2018. Sexual health and self empowerment workshops with the girls of the Sacred Valley Project in Calca, Peru.

So, women and men, girls and boys, let’s remind ourselves of the strength and perseverance of girls around the world. Stand up for what you believe, join the fight, and be proud to be a feminist.

Danielle Lisnek

1 World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive
Health and Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,
South African Medical Research Council (2013). Global and
regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health
effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence,
p.2. For individual country information, see The World’s Women
2015, Trends and Statistics, Chapter 6, Violence against
Women, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015 and UN
Women Global Database on Violence against Women.

(A drawing done by Zoraida, one of the Casa Mantay girls during an art workshop!)

A few weeks into my English class workshop with the Casa Mantay girls (a LAFF partner organisation that looks after teenage mums) I discovered that a few of the girls from the home were keen K-Drama fans and were deeply interested in South Korean culture. I had been aware of how far reaching K-Pop and K-Drama fandom has become in the last decade, but would have never imagined it to be popular in Peru (mostly because it’s not in the traditional South Korean cultural sphere of influence), much less with the Casa Mantay girls. Having said this, it’s actually not as unexpected or strange that the girls at Casa Mantay are invested in K-dramas, and have dreams of one day visiting or living in South Korea.

Hayllu or Hanryu refers to a ‘Korean Wave’ of culture that has been expanding and gaining popularity all around the globe since the 90s. Joseph Nye, an American political scientist defines the Korean Wave (Hayllu) as the ‘growing popularity of all things Korean, from fashion and film to music and cuisine’. Starting with the birth and dissemination of Korean pop music (K-Pop), moving onto the rise of South Korean drama tv shows, and ultimately exploding with PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ in 2012, which now has well over 3.2 billion views on YouTube. Most of the success of the latest wave of Hayllu (2010s) can be accredited to the use of Social Media and the Internet. As with most social trends today, the internet provided a platform for South Korean cultural trends like K-dramas to cross borders, first to other Asian countries and then the rest of the world. Today, you will find K-pop fan groups of incredibly popular music groups like BTS and Girls Generation in countries well out of the traditional South Korean sphere of influence like Iran and Peru. There are currently more than 60 fan clubs of South Korean music in Lima!

In 2013 the South Korean government allocated 2% of its national budget to help create and disseminate more Korean popular culture abroad and foster a “new cultural renaissance’ (Yonhap, 2013) – or in other words, to expand its cultural presence, and therefore influence abroad. Thus, South Korean pop culture has experienced a remarkably fast growth of Peruvian followers and supporters who not only help to fuel incentives for a South-South cooperation between Lima and Seoul, but that have also opened the door for many Korean businesses and foreign investors in Peru. Wayne Arnold contends that the reason behind the overwhelming global success of K-dramas and K-pop is that both the social and political messages conveyed by these productions are seen as “non-offensive” – a non-political manoeuvre by the South Korean government. Meaning foreign governments are much more likely to be open to the idea of welcoming and broadcasting the content to their populations.

In fact, as Flores Yapuchura argues, it is these messages and traditional TV drama storylines that have made the success of K-pop and K-dramas so rampant amongst Peruvians, Peruvian teenagers in particular. K-drama series like “Boys Over flowers” are very popular in Peru due to their focus on traditional courtship and family roles, highly dramatised love stories and the depiction of the importance of values such as respect and a strong national identity – something that Flores Yapuchura argues is wavering in Limeñan society. Most of the K-culture fandom is concentrated in Lima, but much of these trends have trickled out into the rest of the country, and eventually into Cusco. Many Peruvian youngsters see the introduction of Korean culture into their lives as something that helps to both solidify their values and their identity, not to mention the entertainment value any TV show or music culture provides – especially when it echoes the tone and overall character development often shown in traditional Latin American telenovelas. As teenage girls, the Casa Mantay girls are no exception to this.

All of this, mixed with an overall increase in Peruvian-South Korean trade and investment has created an increase in demand for South Korean goods and businesses in Peru (particularly in Lima). It has also strengthened links between Lima and Seoul. Not only are about a third of all new cars sold in Peru made in South Korea, but there is also a growing demand for products like cosmetics and food shown and used on K-dramas in Peru. This has helped to make South Korea one of the biggest exporters of culture of the last decade – putting it along the same rankings as the US and UK.

Moreover, very sizeable investments have been made by South Korea in ‘resource-rich Peru’ in raw materials like oil. A very profitable symbiotic relationship have been formed between the two governments, in which “Korea’s advanced technology and Peru’s rich natural resources and excellent labour force” have been combined to create a ‘new Korean cool’ (Ambassador Park, in Mapstone, 2013). Peru benefits by using South Korea as a gateway to Asia, and more importantly Korea benefits from increased levels of ‘soft’ political power with which it can influence not only Peru, but the rest of its cultural importers.

So, the fact that the Casa Mantay girls enjoy chatting about the latest ‘Boys over Flowers’ episode in which the main character travels to Peru, or that they are learning Korean, or that one of the girls’ dream is to be an extra on a K-drama is really not all that strange. In fact, it is a byproduct of a very intentional form of international business and political strategy. Peru hopes to strengthen its economy and enter the international area alongside South Korea. We and the Casa Mantay girls will just get to enjoy some very catchy TV shows and music, while we go to (or dream of going to) our favourite Korean barbeque restaurant in the meantime.

Every child has a right to childhood. Every child has the right to be free from malnutrition and violence and to enjoy access to education and health care. It has to be so regardless of income, geography, gender or identity. A child must not be at risk of being robbed of its childhood and future potential because he was unlucky to be born in a certain place. As LAFF, we believe these concepts are fundamental. They are the guiding principles of our actions as well as what we try to work for.

This article summarises the End of Childhood Report 2018 published by Save the Children and in particular it discusses the issues that arise in countries affected by poverty, armed conflicts and discrimination against girls. In the second part, the article focuses on how those three threats impact the right to education, that is particularly important for us as it is LAFF main focus.

The concept and the countries’ shared vision of childhood has been defined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).
Children have the right to survival, food and nutrition, health and shelter. They also have the right to be encouraged and educated, both formally and informally, and to live free from fear, safe from violence and protected from abuse and exploitation.

However, the End of Childhood Index 2018 which is discussed on the End of Childhood Report 2018 published by Save the Children discloses the alarming information that over half of the world’s children are at risk for an early end of their childhood. The overall situation seems more favorable in 95 out of 175 countries compared to the year 2017 but at the same time it appears to be worse in 40 countries and among poorest children and children most affected by conflicts (TMFOE, 2018).
This clearly highlights how more needs to be done to ensure that no child is left behind.

The End of Childhood Index compares countries by a set of indicators that signal the disruption of childhood. These indicators are poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labor, child marriage, early pregnancy and extreme violence. These are mostly present where three threats overlap. These are poverty, armed conflict and discrimination against girls.

1. POVERTY

Children raised in poverty start life in a position of strong disadvantage with respect to those that are not. They experience material, social and emotional deprivation, less access to services and impoverished living conditions. They are more likely to die during their childhood and to experience malnutrition (stunting, acute malnutrition but also obesity).

Children in poverty are also less likely to go to school or, if they do, to be successful in their studies, while they are more likely to be forced into work and to experience child marriage. Additionally, girls in a condition of poverty tend to get pregnant at an earlier age compared to their luckier counterparts (TMFOE, 2018).

Child poverty is a widespread issue. 47 out of the 185 countries analyzed in the End of Childhood Index are characterized by widespread poverty and 20% of the children in developing countries live in extreme poverty (TMFOE, 2018). This is a proof that poverty exist in all contexts and that therefore all countries have to fight it.

Children that are raised in a condition of poverty are likely to carry the consequences of this as adults and to transmit poverty down to the next generation and therefore to perpetuate child poverty. This is why it is fundamental to tackle this issue as soon as possible.

2. ARMED CONFLICT

At least 250 million children nowadays live in conflict-affected countries (TMFOE, 2018). Territories affected by armed conflicts are often characterized by a lack of food and of fundamental services as health care, sanitation and education. Illnesses, malnutrition and early death are therefore constant threats in those areas. Children that live in conflict-affected territories are more likely to work from an early age.

Moreover, conflict makes girls more vulnerable to child marriage for a number of reasons. These are, for example, fear of rape and sexual violence, homelessness, hunger or starvation, to facilitate migration. Child marriage is also used by armed groups as a weapon of war. Children that live in those areas often suffer, witness or fear violence, and this causes deep emotional traumas that have repercussion on their life as adults.

Many girls in the world still face discrimination with respect to boys. In fact, the End of Childhood index reports that 55 out of 185 countries are characterized by discrimination against girls (TMFOE, 2018).

Even if the situation has substantially improved compared to a few decades ago, far too many girls in the world, especially in certain territories and communities, are still excluded from basic education, and experience child marriage, early pregnancy, sexual violence and unrecognized domestic work.

FOCUSING ON EDUCATION

As LAFF activities are primarily focused around increasing the possibility of children in the Cusco Region of enjoying the right to education, I am now going to discuss how the three threats have an impact on this right.

Education is a fundamental right of the child and is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in several other international human rights instruments.

The right to education is surely one of the most empowering rights. It is necessary for human, social and economic development. In fact, it helps economically and socially marginalised children and adults to lift themselves out of poverty and to participate fully in society. It allows individual to discover and develop their full potential. It ensures human dignity, and promotes individual and collective wellbeing. It is also a key element to achieving sustainable development and lasting peace.

Education is a key factor that can allow children to escape poverty but at the same time poverty now is the biggest obstacle to education. The Report points out how children in low income countries are almost 9 times as likely to be out of school compared to those in high income countries (TMFOE, 2018). Many children that come from poor families do not attend school because the parents cannot sustain the required investment. Moreover, for the family, sending their kid to work might seem a better investment because the returns are immediate compared to the returns to education which can be enjoyed after certain years.
Poor children that go to school are also less likely to be successful because they are not in the same physical, social and emotional condition of their luckier counterparts.

Another threat that disrupt access to education is violent conflict. Often, as a result of conflict, schools are closed or destroyed or children are not sent to school because of fear they will experience violence. Displacement from home caused by conflict has also a strong repercussion on education.

Talking about discrimination against girls, even if worldwide the gender gap in education is narrowing, there are still significant gender disparities in certain parts of the world (TMFOE, 2018). This could be due to cultural norms, poverty, early and forced marriage, teen pregnancy, rural residence, refugee conditions, gender-based violence, disability, etc.

CONCLUSION

The End of Childhood Report 2018 makes it clear that many children of the world are very far from enjoying their rights and from experiencing a full childhood, free from malnutrition and violence and with access to quality health care and education.
It is not acceptable that, because of where they live or who they are, children risk of being robbed of their childhood and of their future potential. Moreover, this aspect damages the nations in which they live as it deprives them of the talent and energy they need in order to progress.
It is fundamental that governments and international organizations address this issue so that the children furthest behind are reached first and so that, in the foreseeable future, no child will be left behind. We believe that the work that LAFF does is a fundamental contribution to this. In fact, we make a tangible difference on our beneficiaries’ possibility to enjoy the right to education.

Hi there, I’m Emily! A social science placement student from the University of Bath. Having spent 6 months in Cusco and now working remotely from Medellin, Colombia, I write this blog to give you an insight as to why you should consider volunteering with LAFF:

1. The Job Itself!

Very rarely would I consider ‘work’ to be a strong motivator for packing your bags and relocating to the other side of the World! However, joining a small team of around 6 volunteers, allows you to learn and practise a diverse range of different tasks. As a Communications Coordinator, I was responsible for all aspects of social media & recruitment but I also got stuck into assisting with social enterprise & fundraising projects plus teaching English.

2. The Beauty of Peru

As one of the most “megadiverse” countries, I was quite overwhelmed by the surrounding landscape. Spending an average of around 10 hours on a bus, or a short plane you could find yourself at Lake Titicaca, the Amazon rainforest, an oasis in the desert and of course…Machu Picchu! ANYONE who knows me, knows that I have never been an expert hiker (or for that matter, had never actually climbed anything higher than the stairs before coming to Peru!). However, the breath-taking views that you get to see (while literally trying to get your breath due to struggling in high altitude), are one million percent worth it.

3. Spanish, Spanish, Spanish

If I had to say the part of my trip that I am most proud of, it would definitely be the improvement in my Spanish that living in Cusco and working with LAFF, has allowed. Only having an AS in Spanish, I arrived in Cusco with very little confidence in my Spanish ability. However, through a great level of exposure to this, my favourite language, after a few months, I was able to speak with confidence to everyone I met. One challenge, for example, was being asked to translate for a presentation on a new system device that LAFF had created (systems being an area I had even less confidence with!). After learning words such as ‘column’ and ‘spreadsheet’ the night before and feeling very nervous, the meeting came and went, and somehow all I said seemed to be understood! I believe learning a different language in a country such as Peru, is honestly one of the most rewarding things you can do!

4. Peruvian People and their Fascinating Culture

One of the most magical things about living in Peru are the incredible people that live there. Peruvian’s are some of the friendliest people you will meet. Actually living in Cusco, gives you the opportunity to build unique relationships with the locals. I can guarantee that within just a few weeks you will have your own juice lady, fruit and veg seller and friendly mini-market family. Aside from the lovely nature of Peruvians, you will also experience the rich culture that is so prevalent in and around Peru. During my time there, we were able to visit the carnival in Puno (near Lake Titicaca). It was an unforgettable experience, seeing the stunning traditional costumes in the parades, chatting to locals and getting involved in foam fights!

5. The Volunteers at LAFF

The volunteers I met at LAFF were what made this trip so unbelievably special. Knowing that the team consisted of only around 8 people was extremely daunting, as these 8 people could literally have had the personality of a door frame! However, what I realised during my recruitment tasks was that LAFF attracts like-minded people who share similar goals and motivations. With my team, we hiked up various mountains, took long weekend trips away together and found ourselves laughing in every situation. With such a small team the work allows you to coordinate together on projects, bringing you closer as well as learning about a range of different fields.

So these are the top 5 reasons why I truly believe anyone thinking of volunteering & travelling should join LAFF. If you want to experience all these amazing things then just send us your CV & fill in the application form on our website.

#ASINOJUEGAPERU

Edison Flores, Renato Tapia and Miguel Araujo from the Peruvian select team are some of the few who have taken up the #asinojuegaperu. The new campaign is working towards ending violence towards women and girls in Peru.

The campaign, started by the Ministerio de la Mujer y Poblaciones Vulnerables (Ministry for Women and Vulnerable populations or MIMP) and la Defensoría del Pueblo y la Mesa de Género de la Cooperación Internacional (The Commisioner of the state and the gender Bureau for International Cooperation or MESAGEN ) aims to spread awareness of the situation women face in Peru.

‘Every 20 minutes an act of sexual violence takes place’ is a main slogan of the campaign and is one of the few issues, stating in the video that every day 4 girls under the age of 14 become mothers and every month there are 10 cases of femicide. 7 out of 10 women in Peru have suffered from physical violence from their partners which contributes towards rising mental health issues in women and children across the country and a normalisation of ‘Machismo’ culture.

These issues, more often affect women living in poverty or low income areas, usually non urban and of indigenous or Afro Peruvian decent and have less chance of being reported in this context due to linguistic, social and economic barriers.

Ranking 87th in the world for gender inequality and 3rd in the number of complaintsagainst gender violence, Peruvians are looking towards how the issue of inequality will be faced by the government, especially within the judicial system where many believe that lax punishments promote a culture of tolerance for violence against women.

Using the platform of the World Cup, Peruvian footballers, bloggers, writers, artists and politicians are trying to spread more awareness and are asking Peruvians to unite in the fight against gender violence.

Members of the LAFF team visited the Rainbow Mountain this Sunday. An amazing natural wonder, but we have concerns for its future.

We arrived at the huge car park at 9 am, odd-psyche up chants as the people around us prepared themselves for the grueling 2-hour walk at high altitude. Surrounded by over 20 buses we knew we would be sharing our experience with many other people and that Instagram moment would be nigh impossible to obtain.

However hard it was to take a photo by ourselves it did in no way ruin the amazing spectacle being surrounded, not only by the wonderfully colourful mountain, but also in the wake of Ausangate- the highest peak in the Cusco region.

It was a fantastic trip to see one of Peru’s most astounding physical wonders but we could not stop thinking about the effect that the amount of tourists, such as ourselves, are having on the location.

The mountain has only been a tourist attraction since 2015 after ‘being discovered’ due to lack of snow because of global warming and since then has received up to 1000 tourists a day.

This has been fantastic for the local economy with many locals moving back to the area as new jobs have been created because of the influx of tourists. With a profit of 10,000/s a day just on the entrance fee, the area is proving to be very lucrative for the locals.

But tourism is a double-edged sword and the fantastic boost to the economy has brought issues to the natural landscape, issues that will continue to grow if the tourism is left unchecked. Degradation and erosion to the paths, littering and pollution and the changing of the landscape into car parks to accommodate the growing number of buses and tourists are a few of the problems caused.

The lack of infrastructure in the area is also cause for concern. Improper sewage disposal into local rivers causes more pollution problems for the Cusco area and lack of proper access to medical services could be a major issue for tourists struggling at high altitude.

Over the past 20 years we have seen countless historic and natural wonders be swallowed up by the ever-growing number of tourists. Local communities and governments jump on the chance to promote these areas because of the economic benefits but as they are often not environmental conservation experts, the environmental concerns often come much later down the line and are sometimes too late.

As travellers it is our responsibility to leave as little a footprint as possible on the places we visit. We would always recommend looking into the most environmentally friendly ways of visiting tourist locations and whilst you are there, showing the utmost respect for the area and the local community.

Last weekend I had the great fortune of visiting the Amazon Rainforest. I am from Italy and for me the Amazon Rainforest was like a myth, something special and something foreign at the same time. Before coming to Peru to volunteer for LAFF, I never thought I would be able to see the Amazon outside of documentaries and movies and get to experience it for real. This happened last week and it was simply marvelous. Visiting Lake Sandoval in the Tambopata National Reserve, seeing the daily activities of local communities, and watching the sunset on the Madre de Dios River while only hearing the sounds of the forest are memories I will cherish forever.Before the beginning of my trip I decided to read more about the Peruvian region of the Amazon Forest. During my research I came across reports that detailed a great number of issues. Unfortuntately, there are many problems that communities in the Amazon are facing because of the environmental degradation caused by excessive logging and mining that you can’t see as a tourist; one of them is the poor health conditions of local people caused by the low quality of the water they have access to.

Toxic Water: A Health Threat

The majority of the activities of the communities that live along the Amazon rivers revolve around the river or involve using water from the river. These activities are, among others, bathing, cooking, drinking, washing clothes, fishing and leisure time for the children.
Fishing, in particular, is one of the main economic activities for many of the communities that live in the Amazon Region of Peru and where they get their main source of protein.

Moreover, for some indigenous people, like the Kukama Kukamira Indigenous People that live primarily in the Loreto Province of Peru, water is not fundamental just because it satisfies basic needs and allows them to perform basic activities, but also because it represents a spiritual element. The individuals belonging to the commu nitieslocated on the banks of the Marañón River, like the Cuninico community, have this special relationship with water. Sadly, the conditions of the water they have access to is very poor and it is affecting their health.

According to the Office of the Ombudsman, in the Amazon Region, as in other territories of the world, there are new causes of illness and death related to pollution of rivers and water sources (3). In addition, Amensty International’s recent report based on research conducted in seven communities of the Amazon and the Andean regions between February and August 2017, ‘Toxic State’, highlights how the Peruvian Government has failed to provide adequate healthcare for Indigenous communities and how the only sources of freshwater these communities have access to are contaminated by toxic metals. Members of the Cuninico community reported how in the last years they have started experiencing new and more acute health problems; such as cramps, colics, stomach aches, a burning sensation on urination, allergies and/or itchy skin, and miscarriages. These are having atrocious effects on the inhabitants of the community which are having problems in performing basic activities as working, carrying equipment and walking; even children are having problems focusing at school (AMNINT, 2017).

These health issues started to appear after 2014, when a total of 2,358 barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline near Cuninico creek, a tributary of the Marañón River.
Studies carried out in the Cuninico community in 2014 and 2016 respectively by DIRESA, which is Peru’s Regional Health Authority and by Peru’s Ministry of Health, revealed the alarming news that the amount of aluminium and petroleum hydrocarbons present in the water in Cuninico exceed the levels allowed for human consumption and how more than half of people in the community had abnormal levels of mercury, cadmium and lead in their blood.

Despite the shocking information, the ‘Toxic State’ report denounces how not enough measures have been taken by the government in order to tackle this issue. For instance,
the health services indigenous communities have access is far from adequate. Inhabitants of the Cuninico community have to travel an hour and a half on a speedboat to reach the closest health center, and this structure does not have the specialists that are required to meet the needs of people exposed to toxic metals. This demonstrates a lack of understanding of the needs, cultural context and actual resources in the indigenous communities from governmental authorities.

A Violation of Rights that needs to be stopped

According to Article 24.1 and 24.2 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples “Indigenous individuals also have the right to access, without any discrimination, to all social and health services” and “Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”

With respect to health facilities, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) establishes the essential elements of the right to health, which are: availability in sufficient quantity in order to provide health care to the population, accessibility and affordability to anyone also to the most vulnerable or marginalized sections of the population, and quality (5). More specifically on the topic of this report, the CESCR General Comment No. 14 also stresses that the right to health includes access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation (6). However, many communities in the world, as those mentioned in this report, do not enjoy this right.

As the Amnesty International reports points out, given that access to “safe and potable water” and protection from “exposure to harmful substances” are integral elements of the right to health (7), the fact that the Peruvian State continues to fail to provide access to safe drinking water for communities whose only sources of water are contaminated with heavy metals is definitely a violation of the right to health of these communities that puts their lives at risk. Moreover, the Peruvian State has failed to provide resources to enable Indigenous Peoples to establish, organize and control adequate, culturally appropriate health services themselves (8).

It is evident that those communities are deprived of an element which is of primary importance for them because it allows them to perform their everyday activities and because it is fundamental for their identity. This is, under my point of view, unacceptable. It is of vital importance that the state starts taking measures in order to solve this issue so to defend and meet the needs of the Indigenous Communities that live in such a breathtaking wonder of nature which is the Amazon Rainforest.

(5) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 14 (2000): The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, E/C.12/2000/4, CESCR, 11 August 2000, para. 12

(6) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 14 (2000): The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, E/C.12/2000/4, CESCR, 11 August 2000, para. 4.

(7) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 14 (2000): The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, E/C.12/2000/4, CESCR, 11 August 2000, para. 15.

(8) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 14 (2000): The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, E/C.12/2000/4, CESCR, 11 August 2000, para. 27.